State's Athlete Safety Policies Under Fire as KSI Pushes for Stronger Heat Protections

More than two decades after Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer died from heat exhaustion during training camp, his family continues to fight to protect athletes from preventable heat-related deaths.

Since losing her husband in 2001, Kelci Stringer has become a national advocate for athlete safety through the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) at the University of Connecticut. While much of KSI’s work focuses on high school athletes, Minnesota remains one of the lowest-ranked states for safety policies.

“What we do is to advocate to get policies changed in each state for high school athletes,” Stringer said. “They’re often the ones forgotten when it comes to trainers and their health criteria.”

According to Doug Casa, CEO of KSI, the institute has helped change 476 safety policies nationwide. Yet Minnesota ranks 49th out of 51 states and the District of Columbia on KSI’s rubric, scoring just 33.75 out of 100. The state earned only 3.75 out of 20 points for heat stroke policies, including allowing two-a-day practices during the hottest part of summer.

“Minnesota is literally one of our two worst states in the country for policy,” Casa said. “When you look at your state — which is sad for me because obviously this is where Korey Stringer played pro football — you ranked 49th of 51.”

Casa emphasized that strong safety policies do not hinder competitive success, pointing to Georgia and Florida, which score 93 or higher.

“It shows it can be done,” he said.

Dr. Maria Ryan, co-chair of the sports medicine advisory committee for the Minnesota State High School League, said Minnesota does have heat acclimatization protocols and communicates reminders to schools on hot days. However, many guidelines are encouraged rather than required.

“They’ve more taken the philosophy of we want each high school to decide for themselves what their policies should be,” Casa said. “The problem with that is not each high school is going to have a heat expert.”

For Stringer, the issue is clear.

“It’s not about our opinion, it’s the research,” she said. “The more educated we are the better the athletes can be.”

Ryan says further changes to heat policies are now being considered. Read the full story here!